National Association of Conservation Districts

Forestry Notes

April 2008
Volume XVII, Issue 5

| PDF version | Archive of Previous Issues |

1. A Decade of Good Deeds
2. Fine Forestry Work Recognized by ATFS
3. Clearing a Path in Alabama
4. NRCS and AFC Team up in Alabama
5. Forestry Briefs

1. A Decade of Good Deeds
A forestry partnership has helped to protect the Flagstaff area in Arizona

A collaboration in Arizona is nearing the climax of a highly successful thinning and forest industries development campaign. The Greater Flagstaff Forest Partnership (GFFP), formed in 1996, includes close to 30 agencies, businesses and non-governmental organizations.

“The forest is the identity of the community here,” said Scott Harger, program manager for the Coconino Natural Resource Conservation District (CNRCD), and one of two district representatives on the GFFP advisory board. “The Partnership was formed because there was a lot of uncoordinated activity. We also had a bad fire season that year that pushed folks together.”

After formation, the Partnership outlined a 180,000-acre work area, and began to develop its charter. “We couldn’t treat the whole Coconino Forest, so we drew a line around the wildland-urban interface,” said Harger.

Charter goals included: to restore natural ecosystem structures, function and composition of ponderosa pine forests; to manage forest fuels to reduce the probability of catastrophic fire; and to research, test, develop and demonstrate key ecological, economic and social dimensions of restoration efforts.

Now, after more than a decade’s worth of work, the GFFP has helped treat more than 30,000 acres in its target area, with many more scheduled. And, in early 2005, GFFP was instrumental in the development of the Greater Flagstaff Community Wildfire Protection Plan.

“Because of the effectiveness of GFFP and its ability to resolve so many issues successfully, the Coconino Forest has more land cleared for treatment than anywhere else in the country,” said Harger.

The GFFP has lobbied the Arizona Corporation Commission to include biomass in the revised Renewable Energy Standard and Tariff and has worked with Arizona Forest Restoration Products and other businesses on biomass utilization to reduce thinning costs. The group hosts a monthly community forest forum and monitors treatment effectiveness through a National Forest Foundation grant.

One obstacle GFFP faced, said Harger, was to find balance between forces working on both ends of the conservation spectrum.

“Some people didn’t think we should cut a single tree, others thought we should clear-cut,” said Harger. “It runs the gamut.”

By subscribing to the goshawk guidelines, an accepted set of recommendations for management of ponderosa pine developed by U.S. Forest Service scientists, Harger said the Partnership found success in accomplishing its initiatives while working with both sides.

GFFP also found great success in its outreach efforts – too much success, in fact, said Harger. After placing a number of press releases in newspapers Harger found that media outlets believe they’re now running ‘old news’ even though new landowners still need to be educated on conservation practices available to them. “It’s difficult to guess when we need to put in a new injection of information,” said Harger.

According to Harger, the Conservation District’s role in the Partnership is to serve as a litmus test. “We can tell the group how landowners are going to respond to particular issues,” he said. “We try to do everything at the landscape scale, but in our district, some ranches are landscape scale.”

The District also uses the FireWise program to educate locals on fire behavior and thinning practices.

Now in its final stages of its original charter, GFFP has a few projects to consider yet. The group is considering addition of a municipal watershed in the Flagstaff area. The partnership is in the process of exploring small diameter wood industrial options, such as engineered wood and power generation. The group has also seen an ethanol plant proposal that would eventually use slash, but Harger admitted that the area’s water supply would make that option problematic.

As those options are being explored and crafted, the Partnership must decide how, or if, it will proceed in the area. Said Harger, “We treated more acres than we expected to. Now we’re trying to decide if we’re done or if we should expand the zone.”

For more information on the Greater Flagstaff Forest Partnership, visit http://www.gffp.org,  or contact Scott Harger, program manager for the Coconino Natural Resource Conservation District, at 928/527-9050 or email him at cannonbone@msn.com.

2. Fine Forestry Work Recognized by ATFS
During the recent NRCS national leadership team meeting in Reno, Nev., the American Tree Farm System recognized three state conservationists for their contributions in forest management and their support of family forests owners.

State conservationists Rich Simms of Idaho, Bill Gradle of Illinois, and Terry Cosby of Ohio were awarded the second annual awards. Each year the American Tree Farm System recognizes a state conservationist in each NRCS region who has advance forestry technical assistance to landowners. 

Presentation of the awards was made by Kathy McGlauflin, senior vice president of the American Forest Foundation, the parent organization of the American Tree Farm System.
 
Richard Sims
NRCS state conservationist, Idaho
Nominated by the Idaho Department of Lands

Since arriving in Idaho in the late 1990s, Sims has guided Idaho NRCS to unprecedented levels of support for forestry, committing NRCS’ resources to help improve forest resources across the State.

Sims committed staff for forestry, filling the vacant Area Forester position in Northern Idaho; he later elevated the position to NRCS State Forester. The position has grown, giving NRCS representation on the Idaho Forest Stewardship Advisory Committee; involvement in the Forest Legacy Program; a role in developing a GIS-based forest stewardship inventory and assessment system; and more opportunities to coordinate technical and cost-share assistance to Idaho’s forest owners.

Said Sims of his recent recognition, “I can’t give myself a lot of the credit, but what it means is that there is some recognition for the groups in Northern Idaho working on forestry concerns.”

NRCS, under Sims’ leadership and encouragement, provides opportunities for Resource Conservation and Development Councils (RC&D) to assist local landowners and communities with projects that provide wood biomass to heat public schools, as well as wood fuel reduction projects that benefit communities throughout Idaho.

“Our RC&Ds are a huge forestry player in the area and I feel privileged to work with them,” said Sims.

Terry Cosby
NRCS state conservationist, Ohio
Nominated by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Forestry

Ohio has struggled with ways to meet the technical needs of private forest landowners given limited staff and the need to prioritize technical assistance in the face of Farm Bill program demands. Cosby looked to the conservation partnership in Ohio to help provide much-needed technical assistance without having to hire full-time NRCS staff. Through an agreement with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Forestry Division, ODNR Service Foresters are able to provide technical assistance to NRCS customers. In turn for their service, Ohio NRCS reimburses the ODNR.

In 2007, Cosby met with the Wayne National Forest Supervisor Mary Redden to begin a dialogue and explore partnership opportunities. Two meetings have been held between technical staff from each agency and action items have been developed for implementation in the next fiscal year.

“It was a total shock and surprise,” said Cosby of the award, “It means we’re making a difference in Ohio. Our state is not just corn and soybeans -- forestry is a big part of the picture, too.”

Bill Gradle
NRCS state conservationist, Illinois
Nominated by officials of the Illinois Forestry Development Council, the Illinois Tree Farm Committee, and University of Illinois professors of forestry and natural resource economics

In 2007, Gradle provided a new and unprecedented Forest Management Plan incentive program under EQIP. This initiative committed in excess of $400,000 to more than 1,000 forest landowners that will be used to develop forest stewardship management plans.

Under Gradle’s direction, NRCS has supported forestry in Illinois through continued financial contributions towards workshops, conferences, and seminars. As an example, Illinois NRCS is a sponsoring agency of the Midwest’s largest forest landowner conference, the Tri-State Forest Stewardship Conference, which has an average attendance of more than 500 people from multiple States.

Gradle is a member of the Society of American Foresters, serves on the Governor’s Forestry Development Council (IFDC), provides representation on the State Tree Farm Committee and maintains strong working relationships with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts.

“I was elated to receive the honor,” said Gradle, “and I think it shows the strong working relationship we have with our conservation districts, with the State Forestry Division, and with the new Illinois Forestry Association.”

For more information on the American Forest Foundation NRCS State Conservationist Awards, or for complete bios on Sims, Cosby and Gradle’s efforts, visit
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/news/aff_state_conservationist_award_2007.html.

3. Clearing a Path in Alabama
By Tim Albritton
NRCS State Staff Forester, Alabama

Alabama’s hardwood bottomlands are rich with diversity, filled with beauty, and provide fantastic wildlife habitat. They also protect streams and filter watershed run-off.
To see it, all one has to do is take a hike through the nearest river bottom. However, there is a good chance the hike will be slowed down by the mass of privet invading these areas. One does not have to be an invasive plant expert to find this pest; it is literally spreading throughout the state—and, for that matter, the southeast.

Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense), or what is often called common privet, was introduced to the U.S. in 1852. Like many plants of that time, it came here from England after being transported from China.

If the timber type is predominately pine, prescribed burning on regular intervals will effectively control privet. However, prescribed burning is not an option in bottomland hardwoods.

Most landowners are unaware of its invasion; if it has already established itself and the landowner waits until after their timber harvest to address the problem they’ve waited too long.  Privet literally explodes once the mature overstory trees are removed.

In bottomland hardwoods, the simplest and easiest way to address the problem is to use herbicides before the timber harvest. The three common treatment methods are foliar spray, cut stump and basal bark. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

All three methods were used by the author on some private property in Elmore County along the Tallapoosa River. The experience using these three treatment methods is what some would term ‘lessons learned the hard way.’

The author's personal battle against privet invasion has been ongoing since harvesting a small stand of hardwoods in 1996. Having used the foliar spray and cut stump treatment methods for many years, it was time to give the basal bark treatment method a try.

The basal bark treatment is performed by applying the herbicide to the base of privet or unwanted plants. The herbicide is sprayed around the entire circumference completely covering the bark from the ground level to a height of 12 to 15 inches. It then penetrates the bark into the living tissue (cambium) where it is transported through the plant into the roots and leaves. This treatment is a fast and effective way of controlling selected trees and shrubs.

The herbicide chosen for the project is from Dow AgroSciences called Pathfinder II®. It is labeled for the control of woody plants in the forest (privet is one of the 95 species listed).

One of the advantages of the Pathfinder II® herbicide is it comes ready-to-use with no mixing required. It can be used in the cut stump treatment method as well. The chemical can be applied any time, allowing landowners in the South to treat during winter instead of attempting to brave the hardwood bottom during hot summertime temperatures.

Another advantage to applying a basal bark treatment in the dormant season is that privet is easily identified. Most of the native hardwoods in the bottomland are deciduous (naturally shedding their leaves), but privet is an evergreen, making it stand out.

The application of the herbicide is fairly easy. All of the foliage does not have to be sprayed as with the foliar spray method, nor did shrubs have to be cut down as with the cut stump method. With the basal bark treatment method the herbicide is sprayed down low at the base of the shrub which reduces the amount of drift.

Overall, this method of invasive plant control proved satisfactory. It allowed for selective control of invasive species on the property during the winter months when the weather was cool. At the same time, the native trees are released to increase their growth rate. This practice also improves visibility throughout the stand, which is a significant advantage to hunters.

Knowledge of other non-native invasive species can be helpful. They, too, can be treated while killing privet. Some species listed in the Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forest are: Silverthorn, Tallowtree, Chinaberrytree, Princesstree and Silktree. All of these trees are a problem in Alabama and other Southeastern states. Chances are very high that landowners have one or more on their property.

For those interested in additional information, visit the Non-native Invasive Plants of Southern Forest Web site at http://www.invasive.org/eastern/srs, or the Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council Web site at http://www.se-eppc.org.

4. NRCS and AFC Team up in Alabama
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Alabama Forestry Commission (AFC) have entered into an agreement to provide increased assistance to forest landowners in Alabama. The joint partnership brings together NRCS and the Alabama Forestry Commission in an effort to promote forest management, advance conservation on forestlands, and improve delivery of technical assistance to private landowners in Alabama.

NRCS State Conservationist Gary Kobylski said, “NRCS administers many federal programs that can benefit forest landowners. Under these programs, the agency provides technical assistance as well as financial incentive payments. Both the NRCS and AFC assist landowners with activities such as: establishing riparian buffers, prescribed burning on existing pine stands, planting hardwood and softwood trees, including longleaf pines, and applying conservation practices to stabilize logging roads and other forest harvest sites.” 

State Forester Linda Casey said, “By forming this closer working relationship, we will be able to better leverage our resources and more effectively provide services to the landowners of Alabama.” 

The agreement promotes a more efficient state and federal government by sharing technical assistance, information, training and continuing educational opportunities for landowners. 

There are nearly 23 million acres of forestland in Alabama. Over 440,000 forest landowners control 79 percent of the forestland in the state. These lands not only support the forest industry and contribute to the state’s economy, but also are an integral part of the quality of life for residents of Alabama.

5. Forestry Briefs

Crop Conference to Discuss Bioenergy
NACD is one of the cosponsors for the Short Rotation Crops International Conference to be held Aug 18-22, Bloomington, Minn. Most conferences about short rotation crops have primarily focused on either agricultural OR forest crops, resulting in less integration and slower advancement of common underlying science and application. The goal of this conference is to initiate and provide opportunities for scientific exchange and full integration of the science and application of producing both agricultural and forest crops for biofuels, bioenergy, and bioproducts. The conference Web site is http://www.cinram.umn.edu/srwc.  

Consulting Group Releases Report on the Use of Urban Trees
According to Dovetail Partners, the use of urban trees for wood and paper products is still in its infancy; however, the idea is drawing more attention from researchers, community officials, arborists, tree care firms, and wood-using industries, including bio-energy producers. A new report from Dovetail Partners addresses the questions associated with using urban trees to generate forest products. To view the report, or to download a copy, visit the Dovetail Partner’s Web site at
http://www.dovetailpartners.com.